Chevy Chase 2010.

Been trying to put my finger on what makes the Chevy such a popular event hereabouts. Is it because the course showcases the Cheviots so well? The super-slick organisation? The unpredictable nature of the terrain- will we be wading or baking, or both!? The sense of history?- Chevy's now in its 53rd year!  Well, all these things go toward making the race what it is but, if I had to use just one word to sum it up I'd opt for 'Camaraderie.'

It's that sense of friendship in particular that makes it a special event for me. There's always lots of familiar faces from the strong local contigent of WRC/NFR club members, other pals I've made through club running in the NE in the past and friends who turn out especially for the Chevy. But, the camaraderie seems to extend between everyone who turns up, new and old participants alike and is born, I think, from a common knowledge that the race will get tough at some point or other for one and all, regardless of their standard.

However, camaraderie can't mask all rivalries and competitive instincts.....! I've found it's not the best approach to treat the Chevy as a race but, this year, I think, a race of sorts is what I had on my hands. One Mr.B.Crombie might deny it, but I had a sense he was gunning for me at this event and, truth be told, I'd thought beforehand that if it came down to a tussle in the later stages of the race he'd have the tenacity to take me out. I've been chasing 3hrs 15 as a personal target time over the 9 attempts I've had too, and had spent ages studying previous splits, wondering if I could combine best times for parts of the course over the years to get this target pb. A recce of some of the course last week (Ran the 'extreme weather' route.) had shown one thing favouring fast times this year- underfoot it was going to be as dry as it had ever been, even if there was to be rain beforehand.

And only some overnight rain fell last week, easily sponged up by the hills. Race time drew on, the walkers were off in sunshine and light headwinds for the way out, and runners kitted up, smeared suncream on and lined up for the hooter. I got my mantra running through the noggin, "Run your own race!" And tried to put aside the urge to go berserk early on.

Initial pace felt reserved compared to some past years. I went through Broadstruther about a minute slower than in 08/09 but the heat seemed to bearing down even by then on some of those amongst the top 10-15. My 'good energy' feeling, which I'd had even before the off- despite the usual apprehensions-  was persisting and I managed to make places going to Cheviot Knee and then Cheviot with the strongest climb I've had yet. Bruce was there all the way though, unshakeable, just a shade behind and going equally well on the climb. Dropping into the valley I found a good line but, as per usual, lost what time and place gains I'd made on the up. I favour a cautious descent and the 2 I'd passed to make 3rd place at Cheviot summit just cut loose and bowled down to the burn. Nevertheless, finding the right line for Hedgehope kept me in good spirits and I still felt not-bad-at-all-thank-you at the summit there. And, it seemed I'd shrugged off some of Bruce's chase as well on the way up there- a few glances back to look for the telltale white bandana revealed he'd slipped a bit further back. Down off Hedgehope and going across to Langlee was where some telltale signs of tiredness started to manifest though and I had a few minutes feeling sketchy until I passed Long Crag. The breeze had been cooling up on the tops but this was the start of the more sheltered part of the course. A waft of heat rose up from the ground, another couple of strong descenders went past, whooping and then chatting between themselves whilst I had to just tell myself to relax, ease up a little and save something if I didn't want to blow it! Time-wise things were going well; once again I just had to resist the urge to chase the places and concentrate on getting through. Brands Corner came up. I was still plodding steady but old friend Keith Mackie came up on me then went past as he often does at this part of the course! We curved round toward the Carey Burn, across the bridge and into the second part of the Carey Burn Valley approaching Hellpath. Keith faded a little and I moved up again but only after we'd both been passed by Noel Craine of Eryri, storming the latter sections. I'd suffered a sprawling fall on the stony track whilst losing focus on swigging from a water bottle but held it together despite a shock. The next shock came right at Hellpath when none other than Mr. Crombie re-appeared in the equation, right at the point when I'd hoped he wouldn't be anywhere in my vicinity! I'd put him out of my mind after Langlee when I'd not been able to see him behind but he'd stormed the Brands Corner-Hellpath leg (2nd fastest split) to get back at my shoulder. We set about the Hellpath climb with grim determination, eventually agreeing to curtail the chit-chat that started about who felt what! My partner Sarah, out on the course taking photos, was (by accident or design!?) at one of the most testing parts of the course for most, halfway up HP. "This is a race!" I gasped as we passed and she clicked the shutter on us, another 2 competitors locked into their struggle. Something happened for me that hasn't happened before though. As we crested the Hellpath I had energy left, just enough to make a few yards burst. I still wanted to will Bruce on too though and shouted encouragement! Weird. Then I found another surge and opened the gap a bit more although still not sure I'd got clear enough, not sure I'd hold out the rest of the way. Last ditch running, dregs of the tank stuff. I went hell for leather down to Wooler Common Farm and then down to the road trying to open more space up. Only allowed myself a look back once I'd got so far along the tarmac but that was a bit of a mistake as even the slight turning motion to see behind induced the feeling of having a golf ball inserted into the back of each calf! Luck was with me to the end though, nothing seized up and I kept going through to the finish where, I'm sorry to say, I wasn't the best recipient of the attentions of the marshals there as I was trashed!

Hurrah for Sportident eh! As Sarah put it, "I do think it's nice that you get a receipt for doing the race!" Results are on their website and, a little scrutiny of the split times can reveal a lot about the race progress. There are numerous noteworthy performances from local runners whose stories I hope to pick up on soon. Trashed soon gave way to elated in my case as I saw I'd beasted my previous best by about 7mins and got well under my target time. Bruce, you lit the touch-paper for that! Sarah's pics are up on my Flickr pages, see link in another blog entry.

Hurrah also for all involved in the organisation, marshalling, catering etc. WRC members and friends certainly play host to one of my highlights of the year. There was talk of 'retirement' from the event amongst some who felt they'd run at their best this year. Had Les T. seen a hint of this idea in my eye even though I'd not said anything? "Ye cannae stop coming along yet Adam, ye've still got my best time tae beat..." Ah well, no resting on any laurels for me yet then! 

 

Done!

Chevy 2010 Photos

Sarah's photographs from today's race are on http://www.flickr.com/photos/bambadam/sets/72157624290375177/

Race report from me later. Well done everyone. Super day.

June Jaunts: Castles Challenge/ Peebles/ Windy Gyle.

Quite a racy month kicked off, on the first Sunday, with one of my 'big three' events for this year, the Castles Challenge Triathlon.

Although just the Olympic or Standard distance, which I'd tackled a couple of times previously, this was to be the first Tri I'd done which involved an open water swim. A swim in the North Sea too- still nowhere near it's warmest in early June!  Worries about being freezing cold abounded but, fortunately, some pretty good weather and calm evening tides during May had put some warmth in the water and given myself and trio of training pals- Mr S/Mrs E and Big N- good opportunity to get sort of acclimatised and into the feel of sea swimming.

The day itself didn't dawn spectacularly, being overcast and indeed worryingly misty early on at the coast. Would we be able to see the marker buoys in the water?! The sea itself, whilst not exactly rough, did have a little more 'movement' about it than during any of my training sessions. A very big plus though was that we were blessed with a slight following wind which made the bike leg way easier than it could otherwise have been. And glorious baking sunshine, which might've made the day for spectators, stayed elsewhere- a good thing, in my opinion, as it would've made for a killer run. Overcast and coolish turned out to be just the thing.

The athletes registered at Bamburgh Cricket Pavilion between 7-8am; numbered and kitted up, racked bikes, donned timing chips, put running gear and post-race stuff into various coloured bags for transport to Alnwick (Point to Point race- what a major organisational feat for the co-ordinators!) and, eventually, after a quick sea dip to avoid initial 'cold shock' were lined up for the hooter.

Away we went. Despite not getting the number of entrants hoped for, the massed start to the swim was still quite a sight according to my fan club (Thanks Mum!) spectating. "Like a school of porpoise going along!" The swim was a 2x750m lap affair, starting with a run from the beach then out between 2 marker buoys, swimming to and around 2 others, exiting the water again between the first buoys and doing a short run up and down the shoreline before the second lap. I didn't have a clue about my race position during the first lap. Trying to keep an eye on where the buoys were was the main concern. And avoiding getting clouted by other folks' limbs! During the brief run between the 2 swim laps though I was feeling OK, not overly disorientated, (dizziness is quite common on being vertical again after swimming) and could see a sizeable following group and plenty still swimming their first lap. Did this mean I was well up the field? I didn't get time to start headcounting those in front before it was back to the briny again to plough away at the second lap as best I could. Out of the water the second time and running up and over the dunes for the transit to bikes I still didn't know where I was although I knew I'd made a bit more ground on those immediately ahead. My fan club's shouts of encouragement and actual position were lost in the excitement of unzipping and wrestling off the upper half of a wetsuit whilst running! (It's a useful time-saver.)

Out onto the bike stretch and I started to realise quite quickly that things were clicking into place nicely. The following breeze kept the pace slick and the leg-burn low, and I was seeing mid to high 20's mph more frequently than usual on the speedo. I'd reeled in a few places by Beadnell and was aware, from the number of bikes still at transistion when I'd gone through, that I was well up the ranks. Head down and batter on! Bore down on another guy up ahead by Longhoughton but got picked up later on after Boulmer and Lesbury by someone else on a speed machine with whom I tussled for a couple of miles until he got away on the last hill. Dropped another place right on the run-in to the second transistion but I felt good, confident about the run, and let a cocky comment go as I passed again whilst running the bikes into the changeover area, "Now for the easy bit!"

Run was a 5-lapper in the pastures by the river below Alnwick Castle, each circuit finishing with a short sharp leg sapping hill of about 50m toward one of the castle gates. Multi lapping was good, kept the run area within sight of anyone spectating and gave competitors a chance to gauge progress against those even quite a way ahead on the course. Within a couple of laps I'd worked out that although there weren't many ahead I wasn't making significant ground on anyone. I set my sights on maintaining pace through to the finish but hadn't really been watching for anyone gaining ground on me so was a little miffed to get passed in the last half mile! Bah, probably a karma payback for my cocky confidence going into the run! 

Afterward our competitive quartet reassembled, all pleased with our performances. I'd managed 5th individual, 3rd Vet, and went away a bit gobsmacked, never having expected to post as high a place. Big N finished in the top 20, Mr S in the top 40, and his good lady Mrs E equalled my position in her category. Some of us finished the course quicker than Pro triathletes did last year.....

 

Peebles Sprint Tri passed off uneventfully. A little bit of pre-race rain made for slightly greasy roads and I approached the cycling with caution. We'd been pre-warned about a car accident on the bike route but the race wasn't stopped even though the vehicles involved were still on the course and being moved away under supervision of the police. Only a minor chicane involved for some of the cyclists. Did I just say uneventful?! This course seems to be the fastest of the Border Tri series and I managed a slightly quicker time than last year and three places higher up the placings. Quite pleased with that, especially the run which I made most of my small time improvement on.

 

A nice day dawned for Windy Gyle Fell Race, overseen by NFR. I haven't been up to Barrowburn for this one since its first year and had the sneaking suspicion I wasn't going to come away with the same placing as then (1st!) this time. A good field turned out and we were soon under way in the sunshine which blessed the duration of the race and prizegiving afterwards. Phil S. set the usual early pace and soon made a breakaway to sit in first for the whole way. Gary Jones, also NFR, kept second place for the duration of the race I believe. Thereafter the third place was eventually taken up by Will Horsely during a solid climb in the first part of the race, moving away from Lee Bennett and I, and passing Lee Grant on the way up. So, with the front three having gone clear, it was two Lees and then me going onto the ridge after Windy Gyle cairn. I'd felt pretty tired on the haul up but Lee Bennett in front hadn't put extra ground between us since making a move and gaining 50+m quite early on. It didn't seem as though Lee Grant was making ground either and I hung on hoping to recover a bit on the level. That little recovery happened and not long after dropping from Windy Gyle I passed Lee B. Up ahead Lee G's pace seemed to have faltered a little and I sensed he'd lost his bearings a little when the front runners went out of view. Starting the first long descent I thought I might make up another place and drew ever closer on the little climb up Swineside Law. That effort must've burned up the last of the porridge though because Lee G held on and had a terrific belt down the last long descent. Lee B hadn't been slouching behind either since I passed him, but I felt I'd put enough ground between us to coast the last downhill and into the home stretch for 5th overall. 

Thanks again to NFR for organisation etc. Full results on their website.

Next stop Chevy Chase, tomorrow- as I write! Good luck to all competitors.

 

 

Saved By The Temperance Belles at Seahouses

A second outing for the Players' Temperance Society piece, this time on the Open Stage (Organised and hosted by Sarah) at the Seahouses Festival. The first days acts were forced to retreat indoors to the CIU club on a very blustery day but Sunday brought much nicer weather and the appreciative audience sat on the green to watch the show. Belfordians were involved in the two acts prior to The Players as well, Sarah leading out her Tribal Dance Troupe, Manashee, to strut their stuff to African Drumming ensemble Funkama, and then Shauna Bell stepping up for a nice solo set of songs. MC Eric lead the Players in with a prologue detailing the dangers of The Demon Drink and on we went to put on a well received show.

Shauna During Her Set.

Bring On The Dancing Girls

May Madness.

Quite a lot went down in May. Selkirk Tri pointed out a few kinks in the armour and I felt the need to exploit good weather and lack of surf to focus on training. Longer races like Helvellyn Tri and Chevy Chase starting to prey on the mind a bit....

What better than another race to kick-start things? The Les Allcorn was an opportunity, a couple of days after Selkirk, and I pitched up on the spur of the moment. Quite hard to actually find the start amongst a sea of purple and green vests... Wooler must've been a ghost town that night. I had a good race. Bit of a ding-dong with Gordon Dixon of Morpeth, nip and tuck the whole way, but I found a sprint finish somewhere in my kit bag to take 5th place, 1st Vet40. We were both ousted from the 4th place we'd been vying for by a storming last 1/4 mile by Ben Davidson, who chose his moment to show the old boys how it's done. There were a lot of good performances recounted amongst those I spoke to post-race- Bruce C seemed delighted to have elbowed his way into the top 10 with a pb 3 mins down on his previous. Rob M-J of WRC and Charmaine Love of Berwick Harriers reported similar improvements in their times.

Cycling efforts took a new turn when fellow triathlete Big N suggested having a go at time trialing with the Berwick Wheelers. A fine friendly bunch and a good opportunity to sharpen the biking up a bit. Right-ho then! Some Thursday evenings since have been spent wearing lycra and pedalling westward for various distances along the Tweed Valley and back as fast as bloody possible! This is indeed fine fun and I feel some improvement in the cycling department, not my strongest tri discipline. Some of these chaps are rather quick I might add! To be continued...

With a view to the Castles Challenge Triathlon, it seemed like a good idea to start a bit of open-water swim training and there were some ideal opportunities with full tides, sunshine and calm seas on three evenings during the month. Big N and Mr S joined me on one occasion, along with a new triathlon recruit, Mrs E (Mr S's good lady!) preparing for her first Tri outing which was at Alnwick Sprint, as well as for the Castles Challenge too. Nothing makes you feel like you've been doing something active like swimming in the sea does, but it seems the kitchen cupboards can never be full enough to cope with the increased appetite induced!

Amongst other running and biking efforts I've found a sort of favourite session though which is the cycle across to Wooler for a Tuesday evening hill run and then cycle home again. Weather, and all else, permitting I'm hoping to get several more of those in during the longer days. We're blessed to have such amazing countryside to drip the sweat of our efforts on. 

Although May brought some glorious weather, race successes and high points in training, there was sadness too following the death of Rod Rutherford of Berwick Harriers. Rod was a long time member of the club, prompted to join in the first instance after his son and daughter did so. He subsequently took up the role of club treasurer, later secretary, and was qualified as a coach. I've probably heard more words of encouragement during cross-country races, on days when everyone involved would rather have been indoors, from Rod than anyone else I know. R.I.P.

 

 

 

Lambada Legs. Selkirk Tri 2010.

Two or three hours of Brazilian dancing the night before probably isn't the best Tri warm-up but the Brazilian Soul Festival at the Northumberland Hall in Alnwick was a great night out. Nice one Sarah! And I at least managed to keep the booze at arms length, downing flaggons of water to keep hydrated. If we'd had to demonstrate some Salsa/Lambada/Mambo aptitude during the race transistions then Mr.S and I could well have placed higher up the field, for my oft-time tri buddy was also out a-groovin' with his lady and learning some steps.

Dance shoes he may have had. But bike shoes he did not, as he suddenly realised whilst speeding the Tri-taxi towards Selkirk! They'd escaped his kit check-list, and a pale look curtained his face as we realised there wasn't time to turn back to base. I've not yet ventured into proper bike-shoe territory and suggested he'd either be able to borrow some or, failing that, would be fine cycling in his trainers on the flat side of the pedals. He didn't seem entirely convinced and we pressed on toward what seemed very ominous weather westward, another bad omen. Add in one total sandpaper throat, usual marker of the onset of a cold for me, which had been developing for a day...There were hurdles!

The weather held up though and was pretty good for racing. A bit of headscratching about what to wear on the bike. Would it rain? Get any colder or windier? I donned a light jacket over the tri-suit on the cycle leg for the first time and ditched it for the run. The day got progressively nicer, even the light headwinds on some parts of the bike route slowly abating and the warmest sunshine politely holding off until most competitors were done. One bad omen buried.

Swam OK, despite a lack of training in that department, but was glad to get onto the biking even if that section was where things started to get a bit wobbly. I got my sights set on two up ahead who were quicker out of the pool from my heat and got going to catch up. Not long after the first of  2 significant climbs on the route I caught one and started making gains on the other whilst ascending the longer hill approaching half-way. Threw caution to the wind on the steep descent thereafter and, just after reaching the Yarrow Valley road put in a burst to pass. But... too much hard work on the climbs, and not thinking enough about another 9 miles ahead on the relatively flat road back to Selkirk meant I'd not much left in the tank when I was in turn overtaken. My lower back was aching a bit and I had to settle for a steady spin over those last miles whereas I'm sure it was a flat-out burn for many on what was the fastest part of the course.

OK going into the run... achy back settled down...pace felt good...first mile down...the naughty one who managed to get past me again on the bike coming into into range once more... Hey up! What's this then!? My quads suddenly went poisonously tight and I had to slow things right down. Wondered if I was catching some bad vibe from the naughty cyclist ahead because he was in an even worse state and had slowed to a limping walk. I gave him an egg-on as I jogged past and things started to loosen up again although I couldn't get back to my previous pace. Pressed on though. Poured the half-way water over my head rather than drink it and tried to think past the finish-line. Quads did another little Salsa of their own at roughly the same point on the return, to remind me of the night before! And the sore throat started to put in an appearance again too, just for good measure. But, after a slog of a last mile it was done and I crossed the line in 2:28:40something with Mr.S cheering me in. He'd had a good race by his account and the power of positive thinking had kept the bogey of forgotten bike shoes at bay. Trainers on the flat of the pedals worked out OK and, despite the run course being longer this year, he thought he was within his time for last year. Jolly good going indeed. However, Big N's plans to race were scuppered by a sore back so sympathies out to him and better luck next time.

The Castles Challenge Tri looms.... Early June. North Sea promises to be Brass Monkeys this year!

 

 

 

 

 

Volcanic Dash.

Cheviot might've been undergoing a quiet minor eruption for all we knew whilst waiting for the start of this year's summit race. The top certainly couldn't be seen, shrouded as it was in a damp mist, nor did it reveal itself at all during the course of the morning. Not much more was revealed, even to those that hauled themselves up there during the race, as the blanket enveloped the entire hilltop and clung round the trig-point turn which suddenly loomed eerily for runners approaching along the flagstones. As one marshall wryly commented in the gloom when I made the halfway, "The view was hardly worth the effort!"

But, although some scallops of snow still lay in hollows here and there (I make that 4 months continuously that Cheviot has borne some snow now!) and it was murky and cool up top, further down the hill and in the Langlee Valley it was relatively warm and clear albeit with a headwind to test the field a little on the outbound leg. And the tracks and paths were surprisingly dry. Not bad conditions.

Glenn gave the off at 11 and away we went. No-one was in the mood to put up much resistance to Phil Sanderson's intention on taking the lead and away he went. His silhouette, effortlessly gliding along some far distant ridge, is becoming like an image from some strange recurring dream for a lot of us mere mortals of the fell running world in these parts! Second place was comfortably settled into as well from early on by Charlie Stead of NFR. Next in line, Lee Bennett and I, nipping and tucking for 3rd and 4th for most of the way, didn't realistically have a chance of moving any higher up the placings unless something went wrong for those ahead after they'd drawn out some yardage with strong legs early on.

So...that's where the race was for me. I got a neck, Lee clung on. Lee got the edge, I clung on. I was tired though. Knew I was slower than previous attempts here. Knew I shouldnt've done hill reps Thursday night. Knew I was going to regret having been surfing yesterday. Always good to have an excuse to trot out! Force the breathing. Gulp in as much oxygen as possible. Ignore that miniature boxer hammering away in the chest-cavity. Lee seemed to sense my reluctance to make a decisive break and eventually he made his move, right at the start of the steeps of Cheviot itself, a few seconds extra dig which I didn't respond to and which gave him about 20 yards. I didn't lose touch though, which I felt might happen, even though I had to drop to a stride at a couple of points wheras Lee kept the jog going all the way up. On this part of the climb I'd actually felt the presence of the next chaser, Bruce Crombie, who was making ground on us all the time with that perversely admirable ability to make it hurt that I just didn't have today. However, up onto the flagstones for the half-k or so across to the trig, and I felt a little more like it. Lee hadn't gone completely clear and I felt I had the speed over any of the followers. And this close corridor out-and-back bit is always fun as runners pass each other and bander shouts of encouragement at speed whilst trying to avoid going off the flags and into the morass! Into the descent and 3rd place became a possibity again. I took a wide line which avoids some of the boulder fields whereas Lee had retraced his upward steps and, suddenly, was just 30 yards to my left not 50 in front and, I could see, was hesitant to let loose on the steeps. I relaxed, played the risky trust game that the strong descenders do, let fly and went past into 3rd. The exhileration was short lived though, and going by how I'd felt on the last of the climbing up, I'd thought it might be! The little rise back up to the Scald just seemed to wring my legs totally dry of anything they had left and the descent momentum steadily descended! Lee was at my shoulder again and before long it was time for me to sportingly give him an egg-on as he went past, just as he had to me a minute or two earlier. After that I couldn't manage any last burst to catch up again, especially as the onset of blistering heels was pushing me onto my toes. A glance back and I saw that the followers were out of attacking range so I coasted the run in for the 4th place and a time of 57:18.

Well done all competitors.Thanks to Glenn and crew for the organisation. Funds raised went to Northumberland Search & Rescue and Help For Heroes. Prizes were donated by Glen's wife's business, The Chocolate Box, in Wooler. Full results usually appear before long on Northumberland Fell Runners website.

nb: Just for the record, I found out that Cheviot is 34th highest peak in England, 68th in UK, as well as being an extinct volcano- which we all knew anyway.